


What Are You Hiding?

by Cait_Sidhe



Series: The Accidental Vampire [2]
Category: Kingdom Hearts (Video Games)
Genre: Blood, Blood Drinking, Coming Out, Heartless (Kingdom Hearts) - Freeform, Heartless Attacks (Kingdom Hearts), Jealousy, Keyblade Wielder Kairi (Kingdom Hearts), M/M, Magical Accidents, Mild Blood, Mysterious Tower (Kingdom Hearts), Oblivious, Oblivious Kairi, Olympus (Kingdom Hearts), POV Kairi (Kingdom Hearts), POV Sora (Kingdom Hearts), Post-Kingdom Hearts Dream Drop Distance, Post-Kingdom Hearts II, Pre-Kingdom Hearts III, Teasing, Vampires, hungry vampire
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-20
Updated: 2020-06-20
Packaged: 2021-03-03 18:54:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 13,363
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24830392
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cait_Sidhe/pseuds/Cait_Sidhe
Summary: A week prior, two things happened to Sora:1) He accidentally turned himself into a vampire;2) He became Riku’s boyfriend.Only Riku and Yen Sid know (on both accounts), and Sora wants to keep it that way.But Kairi, ever perceptive, knows the boys are hiding something, and is determined to get to the bottom of it. For the past week, Sora and Riku have been on all their missions together, but this time, they’ll be separated, with Kairi joining in Sora’s mission to Olympus while Riku goes elsewhere, giving her the perfect opportunity to figure things out…Sora realizes this; at first he tries to hide things, but then he decides that Kairi will keep pressing regardless so why not leave her some hints about his orientation—Too bad Kairi is completely oblivious on that subject!In addition, this will be the longest Sora has been away from Riku, who gives him blood, since turning. Normally going that long would be completely fine—but then Sora gets injured, losing blood in the process. Will he be able to last long enough without feeding to get back to Riku, or will he have to get blood from someone while in Olympus?Alternates between Sora and Kairi’s POV.
Relationships: Hercules/Megara (Disney), Kairi & Sora (Kingdom Hearts), Riku/Sora (Kingdom Hearts)
Series: The Accidental Vampire [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1777057
Comments: 3
Kudos: 69





	What Are You Hiding?

**Author's Note:**

> Part 2 of my "Accidental Vampire" series! If you haven't read the other, basically what happened in part 1 is... well, it's in the summary. Sora accidentally became a vampire due to messing up a spell, Riku found out and let Sora drink his blood, and then they became boyfriends.
> 
> This one switches between Sora and Kairi's POV in a close 3rd person format (basically, you can hear the character's thoughts when in a section with their POV, but not the other's).

“Sora.”

Sora gave a start and looked up. “Oh, hey Kairi. What’s up?” He hadn’t noticed her join him and Riku at the table (currently picnic-style) in the mismatched kitchen of the Mysterious Tower, which was a jumble of randomly-designed kitchens that changed daily (both in looks and available food; so annoying).

Kairi stared at Sora, eyes narrowed. “Something’s wrong.”

Sora blinked up at her. “Um, what?” Sora wasn’t quite sure what to make of the tone Kairi had used. It didn’t contain the urgency such a statement typically carried, rather sounded completely flat.

“Something’s wrong. You’re not eating, and Riku’s asleep at the table.”

Sora looked over to his friend (technically boyfriend, but no one else knew that other than Yen Sid, who had had to remind them that the walls, despite being stone, were not actually soundproof; which honestly, though embarrassing, wasn’t that bad a reaction. He didn’t discourage it and still allowed them a shared room, though Sora wasn’t sure if the latter was actually up to him or if the apparently-sentient Tower decided such). Riku was indeed asleep, his bowl of half-finished cereal pushed away. That was probably Sora’s fault.

“Well, Yen Sid wanted us up at an ungodly hour, what did you expect?”

Kairi laughed lightly. “Maybe 8am is early for you, Sora, but for most people it’s perfectly reasonable, even late. Like for Riku. He usually gets up at 7,” she pointed out.

“Well, we had a late night,” Sora defended.

Kairi raised an eyebrow. “I thought you two went to bed early?”

Sora bit his lip, thinking up a good excuse. “Well… we did, but then…” Oh, he knew the perfect excuse! “Then I had a nightmare, and since Riku is my dream-eater, he dove into it to change it to a good dream. It was a pretty bad one, so it wore him out.” Sora nodded, proud of his lie (he couldn’t exactly tell her that he’d been doing some very intimate things with RIku, including feeding on his blood, until way past midnight).

Kairi looked worried. “A nightmare? Do you need to talk about it? More than I assume you did with Riku.”

Sora shook his head, glad the lie had worked. “No, that’s okay. It was just the usual stuff.” Nightmares were par for the course for all three of them after everything they’d been through.

Kairi frowned. “Well, okay. But that doesn’t explain why you aren’t eating, Sora. You’re never not-hungry, unless you’re sick. Maybe you shouldn’t go on a mission today.”

Sora shook his head. “No, I’m fine. Just a bit tired too. I’ll eat something.” He pulled Riku’s unfinished breakfast over to him and began to eat it. It made him nauseous (despite it tasting delicious! Why couldn’t it taste like ash or something, like the lore said it would? Or be the usual less-tempting bland healthy cereal Riku preferred to eat? Stupid kitchen, giving them only good stuff this morning), but eating it seemed to satisfy Kairi’s worry.

Riku blinked his eyes sleepily and sat up. “Hey, where’s my Fruit Loops?” he mumbled in confusion (it was such an adorable face, Sora thought), staring at the spot the cereal bowl had been just moments before.

Kairi giggled, pointing at Sora.

Riku stared at Sora in confusion. “Why are you eating my cereal?” he asked. Kairi most likely took the question as asking why it was Riku’s cereal Sora was eating, but Sora knew he was actually asking why Sora was eating in general, as Riku was aware of Sora’s recent affliction. Not that Sora could properly reply with Kairi there.

Said affliction, which Sora was hiding from everyone but Riku and Yen Sid, was vampirism. A week prior, Riku and Sora had been sent on a simple mission to Halloween Town, just the two of them. Defeat some heartless and return—it’s all they’d been doing in the month since the (extremely unfair) Mark of Mastery exam, as things were fairly quiet at the moment and Kairi and Lea needed training (Yen Sid had initially sent them to some magical forest with Merlin, but quickly changed his mind when he learned that the two had discovered that Merlin had been growing certain plants there. Merlin didn’t care if they were high while training, nor did the two keyblade wielders, but Yen Sid certainly did, so now it was on-site training via little missions. Training for those two, definitely not Sora. Sora may have lost many of his abilities, but he didn’t need to be babysat to regain them, despite what stupid Yen Sid seemed to think!). Sora had been ecstatic that he and Riku had finally gotten to go on a mission alone together (especially there, since Riku looked super hot as a werewolf—those supernatural-romance YA novels that Sora definitely-did-not-read had not lied about that). That aside, Sora had accidentally messed up the spell to change his appearance, and instead of just being a vampire while in that world he became a vampire everywhere (thankfully the costume part had not stayed). An actual vampire that actually needed blood and couldn’t easily eat human food (thankfully though, he hadn’t spelled every vampire trait onto himself—he still needed sleep, which was a bummer, but he also didn’t get hurt by the sun, which was not a bummer. He also wasn’t super pale or anything. So basically mostly still human except for the fangs and need to drink blood. Oh, and he sometimes had super-speed, which was awesome, even if it was only intermittent. He could also smell arousal, which was weird but useful when he was alone with Riku). Unfortunately he hadn’t realized until later—his costume itself had changed back, and he figured the leftover fangs were aesthetic—so ended up starved for blood in his and Riku’s room; Riku had been all too happy to let Sora drink his blood (and do more. Since apparently Sora was super dense and had no clue feelings were returned despite in retrospect things being super obvious. Riku had laughed when Sora admitted his feelings, saying it was about time… Sora was a little annoyed at that; did Riku have to turn everything into a game? They could have been making out since the Dark Beach! Well, at least now Sora knew, and they were officially together. So maybe accidentally becoming a vampire wasn’t all bad), and until the issue was fixed (according to Yen Sid, it should wear off eventually—mishaps with that spell leaving things were common, albeit usually not to such an extent) Riku had decided to be Sora’s blood donor (and boyfriend! That part was hopefully for forever).

Riku poured himself more cereal, looking at Sora with slight worry. Sora winced in apology, knowing that when they returned to their room the cereal would be leaving his stomach with a vengeance (thank the gods for en-suite bathrooms). Hopefully none of the blood he’d consumed last night came with it—in anticipation of being a few days away from him, Sora had consumed extra of Riku’s blood, probably too much, so he wouldn’t be able to have more right now. He hoped he’d be able to last as long as their mission went; he hadn’t tried being away from Riku yet, opting to have a tiny bit every night rather than larger amounts every few, although the books said that a few days should be perfectly fine with any amount. Sora still was nervous though; he still remembered that first night, where he’d been so desperate for blood it hurt.

“So, ready to brave the Realm of Darkness?” Kairi asked Riku. “Or will we have to come rescue you?” she teased.

Riku rolled his eyes. “It’s just a few days, no big deal.” Mickey, Riku, and Lea would be doing some minor reconnaissance to see if they could sense any of the missing keybladers there (Just a few days, no big deal, Sora reminded himself. Riku would be fine, definitely.)

“You two are going to jinx it!” Sora complained.

Riku put his hand on Sora’s shoulder, noticing his worry. “Hey, it really will be fine, promise. It’s only a simple scouting thing. Besides, we have the Gummiphones, so you can always contact me if you want to check in.”

Sora smiled, slightly consoled. “Right. Yeah. I’ll do that!”

Riku chuckled. “Not too much, though; you have your own things to work on,” Riku reminded him.

“I know!” Sora and Kairi would be going to visit Hercules with Donald and Goofy to ask if he had any tips on how Sora could gain his strength back faster, as Hercules had had to do so before, as well as just generally check-in to make sure there hadn’t been any recent heartless issues. Missions themselves weren't usually long, but the travel was always hell, especially for someone like Sora who hated sitting still; thank goodness GummiPhones had games! The estimated time for this one was three days: one day and night for travel there (they'd need to sleep on the ship, ugh), one day for visiting, stay overnight at an inn, travel home the next day to arrive in the evening (going back was faster thanks to space physics that Sora didn't understand). 

Kairi giggled. “Don’t worry, I’ll keep him from getting too distracted. If needed, I’ll even confiscate it! I’ve done it before.” Sora cringed, remembering that. On a mission with her and Lea (before the vampire thing), Sora had been so immersed with texting Riku that he’d wandered into a pack of heartless and Kairi had had to rescue him (so embarrassing!). After that, she had taken his phone for the remainder of the mission.

*******

As soon as they entered Olympus, where they parked on a mountain, Kairi could sense something was wrong; there was a darkness in the air, a foreboding sense of iniquity as they walked out of the crevice they'd left the ship in and onto a grassy ledge along the side of the mountain. Her suspicions were confirmed as Hades (was he a person? A monster? A demon? He claimed god, but he certainly didn’t seem like it, not with that vile and creepy demeanor and the darkness wafting off of him) appeared before them, muttering on about Hercules and some other BS she wasn’t much bothered with. Sora seemed to somehow know the guy, so he could deal with him. Kairi only half paid attention.

“So, what’s with the chick that’s spacing-out?” The blue fire-haired guy asked, turning to Kairi. “Oooh, wait wait wait, you’re that girl Maleficent kidnapped, aren’tcha?”

Kairi bristled with anger. How dare he! She drew her keyblade. “Speak of that witch again, and I’ll fucking gut you!”

Hades raised his eyebrows and held out his hands. “Whoa there, princess! Big words, coming from a—wait.” Hades looked slightly confused. “Got an awfully dirty mouth for someone who’s supposed to be some big pure-hearted light person or whatever, sheesh.” He shrugged, adding as an aside with a small snort, “Eh, maybe the witch got it wrong; she didn’t seem too bright in the end.” 

Goofy and Donald looked like they wanted to say something too about the language, but wisely dropped it.

Kairi glared at the blue guy, continuing to point her keyblade at him, until she felt someone gently grab her wrist and begin to move her hand down. She turned to find Sora, who had a look of warning in his eye. “I wouldn’t do that,” he told her quietly.

“Ah, so you’ve finally grown some sense!” Hades raved, returning to his usual flamboyant attitude. “Well, I guess you four can stick around, as long as you don’t get in my way of conquering everything.”

“Conquering everything?!” Sora shouted. “Wait, you can’t do that! And where’s—” Sora began.

“Understood!” Kairi said, slapping a hand over Sora’s mouth. They were here to train and talk to that Hercules guy. Yen Sid had specifically told them not to meddle in other worlds’ affairs, which apparently Sora did a lot, but Kairi considered herself more reasonable than that. Let the heroes of this world handle their own villains, while the four of them would handle issues that stemmed from off-world or spanned across worlds, like the heartless and the Organization—that was what the elderly wizard had drilled in.

Hades raised an eyebrow. “Oh? Well, good to see you’ve got some sense, I suppose, but unless Mister Pipsqueak over there agrees too, then—”

“He agrees!” Kairi interrupted.

“Uh uh uh.” Hades waggled a finger. “I need to hear it from the little twink himself.”

Kairi removed her hand from Sora’s mouth, put her fists on her hips, and gave him a Look. "Don't call me--" Sora began loudly, then noticed Kairi's Look, which caused Sora to instead reply with a pout and mumble of “Fine, I’ll behave.”

“What was that? Didn’t catch it,” Hades said, cupping his ear and tilting it towards Sora, though he had a mocking grin indicating he did indeed hear.

“I said I’ll behave!” Sora yelled petulantly.

“Cool, cool, so glad you understand,” Hades said casually, though with a hint of surprise. Clearly, he had been expecting more of a fight. He turned as if to leave, then seemed to think better of it, looking at Sora instead. “Oh, but before I go, kid, how goes it with that boytoy of yours? You know, the one you were chasing across all the worlds? Riku, wasn’t it?”

Sora’s face slightly reddened and he sputtered, “It-it’s not like that!” 

(Kairi sighed inwardly in resignation. Well, looked like Hades was getting that fight he’d been trying for... Wait, hold up a second. That exchange was weird. Wasn’t like what? And what was a “boytoy”? Why did it embarrass Sora? Oh, but Sora often got red when he was angry, too. Mentioning searching for Riku probably got him mad, as that wasn’t a good memory.)

“Oh, is that true?” Hades mocked. “Could’ve sworn—”

“No! We’re just friends, that’s all!” Sora denied.

“Friends-with-benefits, you mean.”

(What the heck was a ‘friends-with-benefits’? Whatever it was, Sora seemed to know; Kairi filed it away as something to ask later.)

Sora’s face reddened even more. “It isn’t like that,” he said again.

Hades tilted his head teasingly. “Ah, so you found some other chap to blow?”

“No!”

(Chap? Blow? Kairi hadn’t heard those words in that context. Did they have some sort of slang meaning? Sora seemed to understand them. She’d ask him what they meant later, too.)

Hades raised an eyebrow, mouth arranged into a smug smile; he was enjoying taunting Sora! “Really? So you’ve got absolutely no one in your life that you like to, you know...” Hades made an odd gesture with his hands that Kairi had never seen before.

“Really!”

(This guy really enjoyed being vague and implying things, didn’t he? And he spoke fairly quickly, too; how could Sora even keep up with the strange words and gestures? Was it some type of dialect he’d learned while travelling?)

Hades snickered. “So you’re saying that you have absolutely no one with whom you can have romantic ‘dinners’”—he used air-quotes—“with and kiss and _bite _with the enthusiasm of a kitten given catnip?”__

__Sora’s eyes grew wide; this time he paled slightly. “No! No, definitely not!”_ _

__(Wait. 'Romantic'? Had Hades been trying to imply that there was someone Sora liked as more-than-friends? Why wouldn’t he tell her? She had always thought he’d liked her, but Hades hadn’t even given her a glance, so he definitely meant someone else. But Sora was denying it, so the blue guy must be mistaken. Right, Sora would tell her if he likes someone else.)_ _

__“That’s just so sad,” Hades lamented, though he didn’t seem serious. He looked thoughtful for a moment, then leaned towards Sora, hand up in a stage whisper, so everyone could hear, and a sly look on his face. “If not, I can help set you up with someone; I’m sure there’s plenty of people who would love to get a piece of the Hero of Worlds, or whatever they call you now.”_ _

__Sora’s face couldn’t get any redder. He seemed at a loss for words as Hades said something else, but in an actual whisper next to Sora’s ear._ _

__Kairi was at a loss for words too as she again thought about the conversation, hoping she could maybe understand some of it better, but alas, it was no use. She shook her head mentally. It wasn’t worth the headache._ _

__(Kairi did however understand the implication that Sora liked someone other than her. But again, he must be mistaken, because Sora definitely liked her, she was certain of that too. Someday the two would get around to talking about it, and then share a kiss and paopu fruit…)_ _

__“Hey, little miss spacy,” Hades said again, snapping Kairi out of her reverie._ _

__“Huh?” She said blankly._ _

__Hades rolled his eyes. “A little dim for a keyblade-wielder, isn’t she?” he asked the others._ _

__“Hey! Don’t make fun of Kairi!” Donald defended her._ _

__“That’s not nice!” Goofy added._ _

__Hades looked at Goofy unimpressed. “‘Not Nice’ is practically my middle name, if you hadn’t noticed already.” He raised his arm, paused, then lowered it and shrugged. “Eh. I was gonna knock you off the mountain, but I’m on a schedule. Don’t forget to behave!” He waved goodbye and then disappeared in a puff of blue smoke._ _

__The group started to head down the mountain towards town when they noticed that Sora wasn’t following, rather staring at the space Hades had left like a deer in the headlights._ _

__“Sora, are you okay?” Goofy asked, putting a hand on Sora’s shoulder._ _

__Sora flinched in surprise, then turned around, a smile on his face. “Yup! Guess I was spacing out a bit.”_ _

__“Are ya sure? I didn’t really understand what Hades was saying, but it got ya awfully flustered.”_ _

__“What did he whisper to you?” Donald asked. Kairi nodded; that was a very good question._ _

__Sora’s face reddened slightly again. “Hey, don’t worry about it! Now, let’s go find Herc!” he said, hurriedly rushing off—in the wrong direction, Kairi noted, as she sighed with a fond exasperation. Typical Sora._ _

__“Sora! The town is that way!” Donald called, and Sora skidded as he turned to run down the path in the direction the duck pointed towards._ _

__*******_ _

__Sora walked a little ahead of the group, trying not to panic. He’d nearly been outed by the God of the Underworld! Thankfully his friends were a little dim on those matters. He wondered how much Kairi had understood from everything Hades said; despite her use of questionable language, she actually didn’t usually understand many innuendos, especially about sexual stuff. (Of the little schooling she’d had since the Islands had fallen, none of it had been sex ed, as their school system started late with that. And it wasn’t like their school taught anything that wasn’t strictly heterosexual, anyway. Sora didn’t even know any words about that until Roxas rejoined him. Sora didn’t know—or want to know—how Roxas had acquired such knowledge.) Also, the Islands didn’t really talk about gay people that much, so it probably had never even crossed Kairi’s mind that Sora liking boys over girls was possible. Sora hadn’t even fully realized it himself until months after he left the Islands! How the hell did Hades know, though? He’d hinted at stuff last time Sora was here, but Sora thought he had been joking in general then, like he’d say those things to anyone—now Sora knew that the flaming blue god had specifically tailored those jokes to him. Did the guy just have an especially strong gaydar? Wait, was Hades gay himself? He was quite literally ‘flaming’. Sora vaguely wondered how serious Hades had been about setting him up with someone; Hades clearly knew Sora was with Riku, but if he weren’t? Did Hades actually have some sort of matchmaking service? Sora shook away the stray thought._ _

__Also, how did Hades know about Sora’s vampirism? He nearly outed Sora on that as well, emphasizing ‘dinner’ and mentioning biting! Well, actually, humans bit each other during sex too, so nothing actually would be revealed to the others from that. But how’d he know? Hades was God of the Underworld, so maybe he could tell when someone was undead (well, kinda undead, as he wasn’t a full vampire). Ugh. Sora wanted his friends discovering that even less than his sexuality._ _

__He also wanted to find a place to discard the little bottle of ambrosia Hades had slipped into his pocket for “in case you want to keep your sexy little blood bank around for eternity”. Ugh. Firstly, Sora was not immortal—this vampirism was the result of a miscast spell so would wear off (hopefully). Secondly, even if he were, he wouldn’t want to keep Riku alive just to use for food! (He would definitely want to keep Riku around though. Ugh. Maybe he should keep the ambrosia then, give Riku a choice? After all, Riku probably wouldn’t want to become a vampire himself just to stay with Sora… Wait! What was Sora thinking? This. Wasn’t. Permanent.)_ _

__“Sora? Are you okay?” Kairi asked, and Sora jumped slightly; when did she catch up to him?_ _

__“What? Of course,” Sora told her, smiling brightly. He looked back; Donald and Goofy were still a bit back. Sora resisted the urge to roll his eyes at that; they probably were trying to give him ‘alone time’ with Kairi. No matter how much he denied it, they’d always been convinced he had a crush on her. “Why?”_ _

__“Well, it looked like Hades made you super mad. Your face was really red.”_ _

__Sora looked at her, confused for a moment. When had he been super mad? Wait, red face… Oh! She had mistaken the blush for anger. He could work with that. “Yeah, he just riles me up a lot,” Sora said with a shrug. It was technically true._ _

__Kairi chuckled. “Yeah, I can see that. He seems to enjoy it, too.”_ _

__“Oh yeah, he definitely does.” Sora felt a bit calmer now. Kairi still was oblivious, like he’d hoped._ _

__Kairi frowned. “I couldn’t figure out half of what he was saying, though. All these weird words and phrases.”_ _

__“Yeah, he’s like that. I think most people have trouble following him,” Sora lied. The only reason the god had been tough for the others to understand just now had been the excessive use of coded language._ _

__“But you don’t.”_ _

__“What do you mean?” Sora asked, knowing well what she meant. Sora’s nerves prickled a bit (She wouldn’t ask him to clarify, would she? Oh, who was he kidding; she undoubtedly would)._ _

__“You didn’t seem very confused at all.”_ _

__“Er. Well, I’ve met him a few times before, so maybe I’ve gotten used to it.”_ _

__“Then… want to fill me in on what got you so mad?” Kairi put her hands behind her back and leaned forwards, with a sweet-yet-oddly-threatening smile on her face. That smile packed as much weight as Sora’s puppy-dog eyes when it came to manipulation—it was very difficult to resist giving in when she had that look._ _

__Yet Sora resisted. He shrugged and said, “Eh, it’s nothing. Doesn’t matter.”_ _

__Kairi frowned. “If it doesn’t matter, why have you been looking shaken up since?”_ _

__Sora looked at her in surprise. Had it been that obvious?_ _

__“Sora, I know you better than anyone,” Kairi giggled. “You can trick Donald and Goofy into thinking you’re fine with a smile and assurances, but I can always tell when something’s bothering you. And when you’re keeping secrets. So, spill!”_ _

__Sora winced. Kairi could be a little too pushy sometimes. “Kairi…”_ _

__“Sora…” she copied._ _

__Sora sighed. “Look, I really don’t want to talk about it, okay? It’s my business.”_ _

__“But Riku knows.” Kairi pointed out. Ugh, she was way too perceptive, too._ _

__“Well, yeah,” Sora admitted, “but I didn’t tell him.” Not exactly (Riku was part of the secret. Both of them)._ _

__Kairi looked hurt. “So you’re leaving me out again?” she said sadly. Sora couldn’t tell if it was actual sadness or not; she could be very manipulative. Then again, Kairi really did hate to be left out of things._ _

__Sora sighed. “Kairi…”_ _

__“That’s okay!” Kairi said cheerfully. “I’ll just figure it out on my own, too!” She skipped ahead a bit._ _

__“Wait, Kairi—”_ _

__Kairi swerved around. “Yeeeees, Sora?”_ _

__“I’ll… I’ll tell you later, okay? Just not here.”_ _

__“Promise?”_ _

__Sora resisted biting his lip (the habit did not agree with his fangs), thinking for a moment before answering. “...Yeah, promise.” He didn’t say when later, after all. She’d need to learn about Riku and him eventually (hopefully not when she tried to confess; Sora wasn’t stupid, he knew she had a thing for him), and the vampire thing could wait until it had worn off (Yen Sid had said it shouldn’t last more than a couple weeks)._ _

__Kairi grinned widely. “Good! Oh, also, before I forget, Hades used a few words and gestures I didn’t understand, too.”_ _

__Sora cringed. “Did he, now.”_ _

__“Mhmm. Explain them to me?”_ _

__“Ah, well….” seeing the look on Kairi’s face, Sora resigned himself to dooming himself via defining words. “Fine.”_ _

__“Awesome! So, what’s this mean?” She made a lewd gesture with her hands that Sora really hoped Donald and Goofy hadn’t seen._ _

__Thankfully for Sora, the conversation was immediately abandoned after that, as they came into view of the city, which was currently on fire. Sora inwardly sighed in relief (although they weren't good things, fires were much easier to handle than Kairi’s questions… besides, Sora was sure Kairi would forget the conversation by the time they saved the city)._ _

__

__*******_ _

__

__“Shit shit shit,” Kairi swore as she caught her breath. The group stood in a plaza, swarmed with heartless on all sides—not only were there more heartless than she’d ever fought before, but they were stronger too! Plus, they had to watch out for collapsing buildings, and save the people, and everything._ _

__“Kairi, watch out!” Sora said, blocking her from one side._ _

__“Sora!” She said, grabbing his wrist before he jumped off. “Wait, you’re hurt, let me heal it.” Kairi muttered a quick “cure” spell over the large gash on Sora’s cheek, healing it completely._ _

__Sora wiped the blood off with his sleeve and grinned at her. “Thanks, Kairi,” he said, before jumping to attack another heartless._ _

__“Watera!” Kairi yelled, shooting a burst of water towards some fire heartless, who fizzled out. It was the only level 2 spell she knew, and Kairi was very proud of it; she was particularly adept at water magic, and thus had (allegedly, but the others had no reason to lie about it) learned the spell much faster than anyone in their group had._ _

__“Nice one!” said the man who had showed up to help them. She forgot his name, but he was apparently some sort of super-strong hero around here so the help was more than welcomed. She hadn’t gotten a good look at him though, as they were in the middle of fighting._ _

__They hurriedly finished off this group of creatures and rushed onwards._ _

__

__*******_ _

__Were there no end to these heartless? Sora growled in frustration as he tore through yet another with his keyblade, obtaining a slight burn on his arm from the fire-core’s flames before it winked out. He turned to attack another, wincing slightly at a pain in his leg; he’d obtained yet another cut. Hopefully Kairi didn’t see; she’d been wasting too much mana healing everyone the second they got hurt (he’d have to talk with her about that later, although it was a nice contrast to Donald’s last-second healing)._ _

__“Fuck,” Sora swore loudly, as he obtained yet another cut on his cheek before dispatching that heartless too. He was being careless; cure spells might seal cuts, but they couldn’t cure blood loss, which was a greater issue for Sora than the others (humans could regenerate their own blood, and there were potions that helped too, but vampires needed to feed to get more blood and he’d discovered the hard way that the potions didn’t work)._ _

__“Language!” Donald called. Seriously? They were in the middle of battle!_ _

__As the battle thankfully began winding down, Sora noticed a stray heartless in a nearby hollowed-out house; Sora rushed it, slashing the little shadow down easily. Then he suddenly felt a sharp pain in his side. Sora turned towards the attacker: a second heartless, this time a neoshadow. He could handle that. After a few strikes, the neoshadow was defeated—by the building’s doorway collapsing, trapping Sora inside, and not before it landed another painful strike across Sora’s chest._ _

__Sora clutched his side, the most painful of the injuries; when he moved his hand to inspect the wound, it came back red. “Fuck fuck fuck,” Sora said, breathing getting faster due to both pain and gradually increasing anxiety. He tried to use a cure spell, but his mana hadn’t returned yet. Could he wait until it did? No, he couldn’t, he realized. He tried to stand—there was enough room above the wreckage to climb over—but found himself in too much pain. Plus, he had to keep putting pressure on the wound. “Help!” he called loudly, hoping someone could hear._ _

__“Sora!” Came a high-pitched cry, and someone crawled over the wreckage. Seconds later, Kairi was kneeling at his side. “Crap, that looks bad… cure!” The cure spell barely helped._ _

__“It needs curaga,” Sora gasped out. “I’m out of mana; Donald knows it...”_ _

__Suddenly, someone jumped over the rubble, landing in front of them. “Sora!” the man called. Hercules. But Hercules couldn’t heal people… so instead he grabbed Sora bridal-style (why did everyone do that? He wasn’t that small, was he? Although, he was wounded) and jumped back over the rubble, heading straight for Donald._ _

__It appeared the heartless had all been defeated, but now there was a new issue—Sora’s face was inches from Hercules’s chest, and his fangs were aching. He’d lost too much blood, and now was hungry. The injuries themselves weren’t an issue at all, as they were just easily-healable cuts, and it wasn’t actually enough blood loss to starve (assuming he got healed soon), but when pressed up against a human’s chest like this it was definitely tempting. Hopefully they’d get home before it became too much of an issue._ _

__“Sora!” came a squawk, as Donald rushed over. “Curaga!” he yelled, and Sora’s wounds closed up and the pain dissipated._ _

__“Thanks, Donald,” Sora said in relief, as Hercules lowered him to the ground. Sora wobbled a little, slightly dizzy, but managed to stay upright._ _

__Donald bonked Sora on the head with his staff. “Be more careful next time!”_ _

__Sora rubbed his head with his hands. “Was that really necessary?”_ _

__“Sora!” Kairi yelled, sprinting over after climbing back over the rubble. She nearly tackled him into a hug. “I was so scared!”_ _

__Sora blinked in surprise, then returned the hug. “Sorry, Kairi. I’m fine now, promise.” He quickly let go and stepped out of Kairi’s arms (He didn’t mind giving her hugs at all—Sora loved hugs, in fact—but he didn’t want Kairi getting the wrong idea. He knew she had a crush, and he didn’t want to encourage that, seeing as he didn’t even like girls that way. Which Donald and Goofy still didn’t seem to realize either, with those conspiratorial “knowing” looks they now had on)._ _

__Kairi sighed. “I know, but I’m still not used to injuries like that being so easily healable.” Sora nodded, understanding that. It could take some time getting used to. Kairi then frowned. “Plus you have a lot of blood on you.”_ _

__Sora looked down at himself. “Oh, right.” It really was a lot this time, with the multiple wounds. His clothing was slashed pretty badly too—the good fairies would not be happy. Sora used a water spell on himself, followed by an aero, which removed some of it._ _

__Kairi looked at the display in surprise. “That’s convenient. I hadn’t thought about using spells like that.”_ _

__Sora laughed slightly. “Well, it doesn’t get the same amount clean as an actual shower, but at least now I don’t look like a crazed murderer or something.”_ _

__Kairi looked confused. “Why would you…”_ _

__Sora raised an eyebrow. “Covered in blood with no injuries? C’mon, Kairi, thought you’d at least get that one,” Sora teased. Usually she was good with non-sexual jokes._ _

__Kairi playfully punched Sora in the arm. “Yeah, yeah.” She turned to include the others. “Was that the last of them?”_ _

__Hercules shook his head. “Looks like there’s some more smoke over that way.” He gestured down a street Sora hadn’t noticed before._ _

__“Right, let’s go!” Sora said, dashing off, trying to avoid thinking about the slight headache forming._ _

__

__*******_ _

__

__After saving the city (during which an Organization person appeared. Ugh.), Sora formally introduced Kairi to Hercules, who was the shirtless, extremely buff man that they had helped save the city. Apparently, he was some sort of super-popular god-level hero (Kairi could see that; he was quite charming, and his muscles were extremely well-defined. Kairi vaguely wondered what they’d feel like… she mentally berated herself for the thought). Kairi’s stomach did an odd flip and she felt a blush developing as she shook the man's hand. She noticed Sora giving her an odd look, consisting of a raised eyebrow and hint of amusement (Kairi didn’t understand what it meant at all; jealousy would make much more sense, if anything)._ _

__Kairi certainly grew jealous when Hercules introduced her to his very voluptuous girlfriend named Meg, who sexily donned a loose yet form-fitting sleeveless dress clasped at only one shoulder, greeted Sora with a purr and slinked her arm around his shoulders, whispering something in the boy’s ear that made him turn a vibrant red as he responded to her at a volume Kairi couldn’t hear, causing the woman to laugh. Meg kept her arm around Sora as she held her hand out to shake Kairi’s (Why wasn’t Hercules saying anything? His girlfriend was clearly flirting with Sora! Yet instead he looked… amused? What in the worlds was happening here?)_ _

__Meg laughed and ruffled Sora’s hair before pulling away, Sora still blushing. Donald and Goofy looked at each other, seemingly baffled at the whole exchange too. Hmmm. Was there some sort of inside joke between Sora and the two Olympians? Kairi would have to ask later (along with those words Sora said he’d explain before they found the city aflame)._ _

__“We should probably go save my father now,” Hercules reminded them._ _

__“Your father?” Sora asked._ _

__“Yeah. Zeus, King of the Gods.”_ _

__Sora’s mouth basically fell open. “Whaaaaat? You’re a god?!”_ _

__Hercules chuckled. “Technically I’m mortal as long as I stay on earth. But yeah, Zeus is my dad. Which also makes Hades my uncle, although he never was a very good one.”_ _

__“Wait…” Kairi realized. “So this is just one big family feud?”_ _

__“Well, if you put it that way…”_ _

__“Do we really have time to debate seraphics?” Sora asked impatiently._ _

__“Semantics,” Kairi corrected (Sora’s vocabulary never had been the best, and missing nearly two years of school hadn’t helped)._ _

__“Yeah, that. Shouldn’t we be, you know, saving everyone?”_ _

__

__*******_ _

__

__Sora dealt an aerial finishing blow to a sandworm (how and why the hell were they in the Realm of the Gods on floating stone platforms!?) and landed hard. He stumbled slightly, then put his hand on his head, feeling somewhat dizzy. His stomach felt a little queasy, no doubt because he was fighting while it was demanding sustenance. He must have lost more blood than he realized…_ _

__“You okay, Sora?” Kairi asked as she hopped over to him (how was she so chipper right now?) and used a cure spell. It didn’t really help Sora much, as he wasn’t technically hurt, at least not in the way a spell could solve._ _

__“Thanks, Kairi,” Sora said anyway, grinning at her (not too widely though, because of the fangs), then remembered he had to advise her about that. “But, uh, I just landed a little hard, that’s all. Next time don’t use a cure spell unless asked or if the situation seems more dire, okay? If you use up all your mana on little things, there won’t be any left if someone gets a bigger injury.”_ _

__Kairi blinked, then looked away, but not before Sora glimpsed her sad expression. “Oh, sorry. I just wanted to be helpful.”_ _

__“Oh, but you are helpful!” Sora quickly assured her. “Really helpful! We wouldn’t have beaten a lot of those heartless so easily without you! And you healing us so quickly is much better than Donald waiting until we’re almost dead”—Donald made an annoyed squawk at that—“so maybe you two can meet in the middle or something?”_ _

__“Okay!” Kairi said with a smile._ _

__Donald hit Sora on the head with his staff. “Don’t decide things for me! You should be thankful that I heal you at all!”_ _

__“Oww!” Sora complained as he held his head, feeling slightly more lightheaded with that. He stood and took a deep breath. He could do this. He’d be back to Riku soon enough; he just had to deal with the hunger until then. It was fine. He was fine._ _

__

__*******_ _

__

__“Woohoo! We did it!!” Kairi cheered. They had just finished defeating the Titans—ancient beasts Hades had summoned—and saving Hercules’s father. Her first big battle! And she’d dealt the finishing blow! Sora had been very excited about that too; he'd said he was proud of her. Come to think of it, where was Sora? Was he still talking to the Gods? She turned to look, and saw the brunette running down the stairs towards them, stumbling a little. Kairi shook her head fondly; he probably got distracted._ _

__Sora rejoined the group and they left the Realm of Gods; Meg waited for them just outside the gates. Hercules ran to her, and they embraced and kissed. Kairi looked sideways at Sora, who was staring at the two with an odd look on his face. It was almost… hungry? Kairi giggled; maybe Sora was thinking about kissing her like that. She really wished he would! Kairi tried to catch Sora’s eye, but then Meg noticed Sora’s look and winked at him, causing Sora’s face to turn pink as he looked away. Kairi suddenly felt a wave of jealousy wash over her—Sora hadn’t been thinking of her at all, rather that two-timer Meg! Ugh. What was she playing at? Was she trying to cheat on Hercules with Sora? And why was Sora encouraging it? Or, maybe Sora was simply oblivious. Yeah, that must be it; Sora didn’t realize Meg was flirting with him. If he knew, Kairi was sure he’d tell Meg ‘no’._ _

__“Hey, Kairi, you coming?” Sora called._ _

__Kairi snapped out of her daydreaming to find that everyone was already leaving. Kairi hurried to catch up._ _

__

__*******_ _

__

__“Do you need a place to stay tonight?” Hercules asked once they returned to town. “It’s awfully late to set out, and I think the inn burned down. We’d be happy to welcome you.”_ _

__“Okay!” Sora accepted immediately._ _

__“Sora,” Donald scolded. “Don’t be rude.” He turned to Hercules. “We wouldn’t want to impose.”_ _

__“Nonsense! Our place has plenty of room,” Hercules replied._ _

__“More than enough,” Meg practically purred, slipping her arm around Sora’s shoulders again. Sora wasn’t sure why she liked doing that; although it outwardly appeared flirtateous, charming him couldn’t be the goal, as Meg knew Sora was gay (she’d caught him checking out Herc earlier—more than once, Sora reluctantly admitted—although she seemed to find it more hilarious than anything. He hadn’t intentionally done so, but Herc was a god, muscular, and shirtless! Besides, even Kairi had reacted to him, both visibly and… well, let’s just say that the ability to sense arousal that came from being a vampire was great when Sora was alone with Riku, but rather awkward when around others. Unfortunately she didn’t seem to understand the knowing look Sora had sent her upon her reaction)._ _

__“Being an official Hero has its perks,” Herc added._ _

__“Well, if you insist,” Goofy said._ _

__“Thank you,” Kairi said tersely; from the corner of his eye, Sora noticed her staring intently at him and Meg… oh. Sora suddenly understood Meg’s goal._ _

__“Are you trying to intentionally make her jealous?” Sora muttered, giving Meg a side-eyed look and raising an eyebrow._ _

__Meg grinned. “Am I?”_ _

__Sora tried not to laugh. “Be careful; she might impale you with her keyblade… but seriously, why?”_ _

__Meg chuckled, fiddling a bit with the collar of Sora’s shirt. “Look, kid, she’s obviously smitten with you. If you keep stringing it along, it’s not going to end well.”_ _

__Sora frowned, glancing at Kairi, who was still glaring daggers at them. “What do you mean?”_ _

__“I mean you probably should let her know she has no chance before she gets her hopes up further. It isn’t exactly fair to her.”_ _

__Sora sighed. “Well, yeah, I know that. It’s just hard to find a time; I didn’t exactly realize it myself until a few months ago. And, our island… well, it doesn’t have the same views on boys-liking-boys as you all have here. Many people think it's immoral.”_ _

__Meg blinked in surprise. “Huh; how strange." Then she returned to her prior teasing tone. "So in summary, you’re nervous.”_ _

__“Well, yeah… but, wait, what’s the flirting gotta go with that? Getting her jealous won’t help!”_ _

__Meg laughed. “Maybe, maybe not. It is pretty fun though, you gotta admit. Plus, you know you like it, too...”_ _

__Sora blushed. Okay, yes, teasing Kairi was kinda fun (Sora, Riku, and Kairi teased each other all the time). But the look she was giving them… Sora felt that they were toeing the line between okay-teasing and not-okay-teasing... or already leapt over it, more accurately._ _

__Meg grinned. “If you want me to stop, I will. Or, even better…” Her eyes glowed with an idea; Sora wasn’t sure if he should be afraid or not. “Maybe if it’s more obvious, you won’t have to tell her…”_ _

__“Wait, what—”_ _

__“Herc, catch!” Meg called, as she basically threw Sora at Herc, who caught Sora around the waist as Sora bumped into him, face against Herc’s still-unclothed chest. Sora let out a squeak of surprise and felt his face basically light on fire._ _

__Donald and Goofy, conversation with Herc halted at the display, made sounds of confusion. Sora would have been confused as well, if he weren’t trying to stop both his stomach and further down from reacting to the situation._ _

__Herc laughed, and Sora pushed away, too embarrassed to say anything. Instead he turned to Meg and glared at her. She grinned mischievously and winked._ _

__Sora glanced towards Kairi, who simply looked confused at the display… Hmm. Maybe Meg had a point. Sora really didn’t want to have a direct conversation with Kairi about his orientation, so maybe if he dropped enough hints, made it more obvious, Kairi might figure out he’s gay on her own. She had been trying to figure out what Sora and Riku had been hiding from her, after all, so why not let her figure out the less minor of the two things?_ _

__

__*******_ _

__

__As Hercules led them around the city towards his home, Kairi pondered the events that occurred minutes prior. She honestly had no clue what to make of them. Meg had 100% been flirting with Sora, and he allowed it, even after clearly noticing Kairi’s glare, which Sora seemed to have little concern over. They had been having a secret conversation that had gotten him flustered. And then Meg had pushed Sora towards Herc, and Sora’s whole reaction to that was strange. If Kairi had been tossed into Hercules’s arms like that, sure, she’d get flustered. But she was a girl. Sora was definitely not a girl. So what reason did he have to get flustered to the point of speechlessness? Maybe it was due to whatever Meg had said before then. Maybe Kairi should ask._ _

__“Hey, Sora!” Kairi called, jogging over to him. He had been chatting with Donald and Goofy; Meg and Hercules walked further ahead of them, having a private conversation._ _

__“What is it, Kairi?” Sora asked, looking at her expectantly._ _

__“Well, after Hercules invited us over—”_ _

__“You want to know what Meg and I were talking about,” Sora said with a sigh and wan smile._ _

__Kairi blinked, surprised. She hadn’t expected to get it out of Sora so easily. “Uh, yeah, actually.”_ _

__“I’m sorry, Kairi, but I’m not ready to talk about that yet,” Sora told her tiredly, his expression asking her not to press it._ _

__Kairi was confused. Again. Why was Sora keeping so many secrets lately? Was this related to whatever he and Riku had been hiding? And what did he mean, wasn’t ready? “She was flirting with you,” Kairi continued in a different vein. “Do you—”_ _

__Sora actually started laughing, of all things. “No, Kairi, of course not! That’s just how she acts,” he explained. “Besides, she’s nowhere near my type at all.”_ _

__“I see,” Kairi let out a breath she hadn’t realized she’d been holding. “Oh, and one more thing—that thing at the end, with Hercules. You turned bright red. What was that about?”_ _

__Sora actually blushed slightly at that, then took a breath to calm it down before grinning slyly. “What do you think?”_ _

__This confused Kairi even more. “I don’t know, that’s why I asked. I’ve never seen you react that way.”_ _

__Sora raised an eyebrow, expression now teasing. “Well, why did you get all flustered when you shook his hand earlier?”_ _

__Now Kairi was the one who blushed furiously. He had noticed! “I, um, well… that’s…”_ _

__Sora laughed. “No need to get all embarrassed, Kairi; he’s a reeeaaaaally hot guy. I completely understand.”_ _

__This only made Kairi flush further. “But… it’s not like I…”_ _

__Sora laughed again. “Kairi, it’s fine. I don’t think any straight woman can look at him without swooning a little.”_ _

__Kairi took a deep breath. “Right. Right.” She then frowned in slight confusion. There was another word used in an odd context. “What do you mean by ‘straight woman’?” She’d never heard that term before. Were there women who weren’t completely women? What would that even entail?_ _

__Sora looked slightly surprised that Kairi hadn’t understood, then actually explained for once. “It means a woman who likes men.”_ _

__Kairi only became even more confused. “But all women like men.”_ _

__Sora slouched slightly and sighed, putting a hand on his forehead. “Seriously? Kairi…” he seemed unsure what to say. “You know, let’s have this conversation later, okay?”_ _

__Kairi puffed up her cheeks, annoyed. “Again? You keep saying that!”_ _

__Sora cringed. “I know. Just… not here, okay?”_ _

__“But—”_ _

__“Later.” Sora waved a hand in dismissal, then took out his GummiPhone. “I’m gonna call Riku, be back in a bit.” He jogged off far enough to be out of earshot._ _

__Kairi couldn’t be more confused between the conversation and Sora wanting to call Riku without her. “What was that all about?” she asked Donald and Goofy, who shrugged, seeming to be just as baffled as her._ _

__

__*******_ _

__

__Sora lay in a surprisingly normal twin bed with silk sheets; for some reason he hadn’t expected that in this world. There was a second bed in the room, where Kairi slept. Donald and Goofy were in a similar room next door._ _

__Kairi slept soundly; Sora could tell by her even breathing and heart rate, even from across the room. It was the latter thing that he was most focused on, the gentle throb of her pulse… His stomach grumbled slightly; whenever Sora closed his eyes to try to sleep, that pulse only grew louder, so tempting… He must have lost more blood than he’d thought. His mouth began to salivate; he could smell the blood now, calling to him…_ _

__Sora gasped, realizing that somehow he was standing next to Kairi’s bed staring at the sleeping girl. He could see her pulse (in a different situation he'd find that cool, as it meant he just discovered that he had night vision, but right now he wished that weren't the case)… Sora shook his head, starting to panic as he darted back to sit on his bed, head spinning, stomach screaming in want._ _

__Sora decided to take a walk to clear his head; maybe being away from the temptation would calm down his hunger. He hated himself for thinking about attacking Kairi like that. They needed to solve this vampire problem soon!_ _

__Sora slipped quietly out of the room and past Donald and Goofy’s, trying to focus on not-hunger. There were many other rooms, full of temptatious food—er humans. Not food. Quite a few of the townspeople were staying at the villa too, as their homes had been destroyed in the fires; others with spare rooms had also let people stay, so everyone had a place to sleep. Sora was quite impressed by the camaraderie of the townspeople here compared to other worlds. He wandered around the halls, eventually coming upon a large courtyard. Sora sighed in relief; fresh air was a welcome respite from the mouth-watering smells of—no no no, not food! Humans were not just food! Sora sat on a backless stone bench and put his head in his hands, elbows on his knees. Why? Why was this happening to him? His fangs ached with need, stomach clenched in pain… Why could he still smell it?_ _

__“Something wrong?” came a svelte voice from nearby._ _

__Sora jumped in surprise, staring at Meg and Hercules. “Get back!” he hissed, leaping up and over the bench, only to spring straight into the wall behind him, grunting as he fell to the ground._ _

__“Oh, sorry for scaring you.” Meg walked over to Sora and offered a hand to get up, but Sora scrambled away and stood on his own._ _

__“I’m sorry,” Sora said desperately, “but please, don’t get near me. I don’t want to hurt you.” He started to run, but Hercules grabbed Sora’s arm._ _

__“Sora, what’s going on?” Hercules asked. “Do you need help?”_ _

__Meg looked at Sora curiously, staring at him with narrowed eyes from inches away. Sora glanced down at Meg’s throat, viscerally aware of her pulse and the sweet scent of her blood. He bit his lip in nervousness, which unfortunately revealed his fangs and caused him to stab his lip. Sora winced slightly in pain, but didn’t move, worried that if he did he’d bite Meg in the throat. “You’re some sort of empousa, aren’t you?” Meg concluded. “Never heard of a male one, though.”_ _

__Sora gulped. “What’s an empousa?”_ _

__“A type of shape-shifting creature that seduces and then feeds upon humans. You’re not going to eat any of our guests now, are you?” It sounded like Meg was actually teasing about that._ _

__Sora gagged. “No! I don’t eat people. Or shape-shift. Or seduce. Er. Just… uh…”_ _

__“Drink their blood, then? That's called a strigoi, right? Only other thing I can think of that looks human but has fangs. Thought they didn't exist outside of more obscure foreign mythology.” Meg seemed to be taking this much more calmly than Sora would ever expect. She seemed more curious than anything, and wasn't afraid at all even though initially she'd guessed something worse than a vampire--or strigoi, as she called it. Sora recalled reading that alternative term for vampire in one of the many books he and Riku had combed through trying to find a solution to Sora's predicament._ _

__"Um…" Sora felt his face redden. Seemed he couldn’t get out of this. "Yeah, but we use the word vampire for it. I need to drink blood... But I never take enough to kill! And I won’t drink anyone’s here! Riku usually lets me have some of his…”_ _

__“But Riku isn’t here, and you’re hungry,” Hercules concluded._ _

__Sora nodded. “Yeah. I lost a lot of blood earlier, and I need to drink to restore it… I almost attacked Kairi. She doesn’t know I’m a vampire yet. None of the companions I brought here know... only a few people do, since I was only changed last week. Please don’t tell anyone,” Sora begged. “I can control it, I swear! I’ll sleep outside if I have to.”_ _

__“Or you can have some blood and not be hungry,” Meg suggested casually._ _

__Sora blanched. “What! No, I don’t want to have to attack anyone. I’m pretty sure I can last until I get back to Riku.”_ _

__“But not fully sure? What happens if you can’t last until then, and the—what'd you call it, vampire?—instincts in you cause you to attack someone innocent? What if you get too hungry, and accidentally drink too much, killing them? You said it yourself: the temptation already is so great that you had to leave the villa to avoid attacking your friend.”_ _

__“I…” Sora trailed off, momentarily unsure what to say to that. “I can manage,” he said halfheartedly._ _

__Meg shook her head. “That’s not a risk you should need to take. Or one I want you to. Would you drink if you had a volunteer?”_ _

__“A volunteer?”_ _

__“Mhmm. You can drink some of mine if you want.”_ _

__Sora blinked in surprise, not expecting that. It was, admittingly, better than trying to wait until he could get to Riku. And Meg didn’t seem to be taking issue with it. “Umm. Okay, I guess,” Sora agreed, then double-checked. “Are you sure, though?”_ _

__“Wait, Meg,” Hercules jumped in. He turned to Sora. “I’m stronger. You can have some of mine instead,” Hercules offered, and Sora blushed. He needed the blood, but kinda felt like it was cheating on Riku if he took it from someone he was so, er, admittingly aroused by._ _

__Meg slinked an arm around Hercules’s neck. “Better be me, Wonderboy. We don’t want to accidentally make any half-god vampires, hmm?”_ _

__Hercules laughed. “Good point.”_ _

__“So, how do you want to do this?” Meg asked, untangling herself from Hercules and instead slinking her arm around Sora. She nuzzled his cheek and Sora nearly fainted from the smell._ _

__“Hold up,” said Hercules. “Let’s go back to our room; doing this in the middle of the courtyard risks someone seeing, and we don’t want to cause mass panic.”_ _

__Meg took Sora’s hand and led him back into the villa, Hercules at her heels. “So, you said you only got changed into a vampire last week? How does that work? People are born empousa; I thought strigoi were a variation of them but I guess they really are completely different things.”_ _

__“Er. Yeah, vampires are different. There are many ways humans can become one, although most involve dying first… but my case is kinda unique regardless. I badly messed up a magic spell that was supposed to temporarily change my appearance.”_ _

__Hercules chuckled. “Seems it changed more than just your appearance,” he commented._ _

__Sora sighed. “Unfortunately. And it hasn’t worn off yet, either… usually mistakes with that spell wear off within a few days, but it’s been more than a week…”_ _

__Hercules patted Sora on the back. “Hey, don’t sweat it. It’s probably lasting longer because it’s more than just appearance, right?”_ _

__“I mean, I guess?”_ _

__“Yeah! Besides, it’s not so bad comparatively. I know someone who once got turned into a tree.”_ _

__“A tree?” Sora asked in disbelief._ _

__“Yup. A bird even made a nest in him… oh, hey, here’s our room.”_ _

__The two led Sora into a room with the largest bed Sora had ever seen, topped with purple silk sheets and at least ten pillows. Meg, still holding Sora’s hand, led him over to it and sat him down on the edge._ _

__“So, how do you want to do this, little hero?” Meg asked. “The neck is usually where creatures like you prefer to bite, right?” she tilted her head to the side—her chiton was only fastened on one side, the opposite of which she bared, so the tilt revealed her full neck and shoulder._ _

__Sora blushed. “Um. That’s okay; I can just use the forearm…” he said, although he was staring hard at the neck as he gulped. He felt absolutely dizzy with hunger now._ _

__Meg shrugged and held her arm out, eyes sparkling as though she were having fun. She didn’t stop baring her neck, as if she were trying to tease Sora, get him to use that instead._ _

__“Um. Okay. Hercules, I, um, I’ve never been quite this hungry before, so pull me away if I start taking too much from her, okay? I don’t know how well I can control it.”_ _

__Hercules nodded. “Got it.”_ _

__“Now get to it; I’m waiting,” Meg said coyly._ _

__Sora tepidly grabbed onto Meg’s forearm, although his eyes were still locked on the throbbing pulse in her neck. Sora looked towards the arm, then the neck again, then back to her arm as he lowered his head down, intending to bite it…_ _

__Suddenly, Sora bit into the flesh on Meg’s neck instead, unsure when he’d moved there, one hand on the back of her neck with the other still holding the arm. Meg gasped. If Sora had been more cognizant he might have unlatched and apologized, but he was simply too hungry. He sucked on the bloody wound his fangs had created, taking in large gulps of blood. It had a different taste than Riku’s, sweeter and somewhat floral. It seemed fitting for her. The blood brought welcome relief, satisfying the hunger as it flowed down Sora’s throat soothingly._ _

__“Hey, Sora, come on, that’s enough!” Someone was tugging on Sora’s shoulders, but Sora was only partly conscious of it, overwhelmed with the taste and feeling of the fresh blood. “Sora!”_ _

__Sora gasped and unlatched his fangs, realizing what had started to happen. “I’m so sorry!” he said immediately. He had lost control after all._ _

__Meg shook her head; she looked somewhat paler, but conscious and cognizant, to Sora’s relief. “Don’t worry; Herc stopped you. You’re good.”_ _

__Sora frowned. “But I—”_ _

__“It’s fine, Sora,” Hercules insisted too. “You looked like you needed it, anyway.”_ _

__Sora winced. “Yeah, guess I was hungrier than I’d thought… I’ll have to be careful not to get too injured next time… I’m sorry, Meg. Here, I’ll heal you.”_ _

__Meg waved a hand. “Hey, it was to help a starving friend. I'd do it again if needed. Don’t worry about it, seriously,” she assured Sora as he worked on healing the bite wound. It took a few spells as it was quite deep. “Honestly,” she grinned as she purred, “It felt quite nice. Never expected that.” She turned to Hercules. “Maybe I’ll have to have you bite me, too.”_ _

__Hercules blushed, and so did Sora as he realized that he could smell both Hercules and Meg's arousal._ _

__“Um. Do you want me to leave you two alone now?” Sora asked._ _

__Hercules laughed. “Might want to wash off, first; imagine returning to Kairi with a mouth full of blood?”_ _

__Sora covered his mouth and let out a squeak of combined horror and embarrassment as Meg handed him a towel._ _

__

__********_ _

__

__“Hey, Riku!” Kairi greeted, following Sora into the boys' room. After waking up, the group had indulged in a brilliant breakfast feast that had been prepared, and then headed straight home after thanking and saying goodbye to their Olympus friends. Which for Sora involved tightly hugging both Hercules and Meg, to Kairi’s annoyance—he never hugged her quite like that!_ _

__Kairi’s entrance was quieter than Sora’s, who yelled “You’re alive!” and immediately leapt at his best friend, who lay on his bed reading a book._ _

__“Ugh, Sora!” Riku huffed, pushing his friend off, though he was laughing._ _

__Sora gave Riku puppy-dog eyes. “Don't you want my hugs?”_ _

__Riku sat up, holding up a now-bent book. “Not when they destroy Yen-Sid’s books.”_ _

__Sora cringed and apologized—Yen Sid did not like his books getting damaged—then sat on his own bed. Kairi sat next to him. It was strange how the tower, which could create rooms at will, had randomly decided to have the two boys share a room when everyone else got their own, but hey, that was the Tower for you._ _

__“Riku, get over here!” Sora called, jumping back so he was against the wall and tapping a Riku-sized spot next to him. Kairi followed his example, sitting on Sora’s other side._ _

__Riku groaned. “Seriously? I was sitting down first! You should come over here!” he complained, though it belied his actions. Soon the three were all cuddled together. It reminded Kairi of the sleepovers they’d have as kids._ _

__“So, spill,” Riku said. “I heard rumors that there was a major incident in Olympus. You didn’t get involved in that, did you?” he teased._ _

__“Well, maybe a little…” Sora said teasingly._ _

__“Sora!” Riku gasped playfully. “What happened to World Order?”_ _

__Sora laughed. “Fuck ‘World Order.’”_ _

__“Sora! Language!” Kairi chided jokingly._ _

__“Um, you’re scolding me for language? Who was it that got reprimanded for it by the God of the Underworld, again?”_ _

__Kairi giggled, then remembered that she had wanted to ask about that conversation. “Oh! That reminds me!” She chimed. With Riku there, she was bound to get answers. “There were some things I wanted to ask. Sora said he’d tell me later.”_ _

__

__***_ _

__Sora groaned. Kairi had apparently not forgotten the conversation they’d had with Hades or the incident with Meg, to his utmost dismay._ _

__“Oh? Well, ask away,” Riku invited, unawares._ _

__“Kairi, no!” Sora whined._ _

__“No?” Riku looked confused._ _

__“It’s probably related to what I called you about…” After Kairi had asked Sora about what the word ‘straight’ meant, he had run off to call Riku, where he told Riku about the discussion with Meg and Kairi’s questions about it. Neither of them had realized Kairi was quite that naïve about the topic of sexuality. Suddenly Kairi’s confusion over everything that had happened had made more sense._ _

__“Ah, that.”_ _

__“Why couldn’t you just forget about it…” Sora continued, hiding his face in his hands._ _

__Riku sighed. “Well, I guess there’s no time like the present,” he said, grabbing Sora’s hand. “Okay, Kairi, what do you want to know?”_ _

__Kairi’s eyes lit up. “Great! So, what’s this mean?” Kairi made a lewd gesture with her hands, and Riku’s face turned bright red._ _

__“Hades used it,” Sora clarified before Riku could ask, not even having to look at the gesture. He’d actually forgotten about Hades using that one._ _

__“Of course he did,” Riku muttered darkly. He sighed. “What was the context?”_ _

__“He, uh, used it when taunting me about something,” Sora said._ _

__“His words were ‘Really? So you’ve got absolutely no one in your life that you like to, you know’ and then he made the symbol.” Curse Kairi’s unusually strong memory!_ _

__Riku looked slightly confused. “What’d he say before that?”_ _

__“Before that, he said ‘Ah, so you found some other chap to blow?’, which Sora angrily said ‘no’ to.”_ _

__Riku turned to Sora, raising his eyebrow._ _

__Sora sighed. “He was taunting me about… I dunno, somehow he knows. Like, apparently he figured it out when we were in the Underworld last time? So he was asking me about you, and I denied it—Kairi and Donald and Goofy were there, after all—but he didn’t really believe me, so he kept taunting, trying to draw it out. And that wasn’t anger, Kairi, it was embarrassment.”_ _

__Kairi looked confused, and Riku asked in astonishment. “He knew? How?”_ _

__Sora shrugged. “He must have a really good gaydar or something. And apparently he runs a matchmaking service, too, though not sure how serious he was about it.”_ _

__Riku just shook his head in wonder._ _

__“What’s gaydar’?” Kairi asked._ _

__Sora put his hand on his forehead. “See what I’m dealing with, Riku? Ugh. Kairi, just forget everything Hades said, okay?”_ _

__Kairi frowned resolutely. “No. I want to know what all those weird words and gestures he was saying are! If you won’t tell me, I’ll ask someone else.” She began to get up._ _

__Riku pulled her back down. “Bad idea.”_ _

__“We’ll tell you,” Sora said, resigned to the awkwardness. He mentally shook at the thought of Kairi going to Mickey or Yen Sid about this—or worse, Axel._ _

__Speak of the devil and he shall appear, flaming red hair and all. “Tell her what? That you two are boning?”_ _

__“Axel!” Sora yelled, leaping up in shock; he was sure his face had gone white as a sheet._ _

__“What? It’s true, isn’t it? And again, it’s ‘Lea’ now. Get it memorized.”_ _

__“What’s ‘boning’?” Kairi asked in confusion._ _

__“D-don’t worry about it, Kairi,” Riku said. He sat with his knees up, face buried in them._ _

__Kairi glared at him. “You’re all keeping things from me!” she accused, her face revealing hurt anger. “Why?” She moved her glare to Sora. “You won’t tell me what all those words and gestures were that Hades was using, and the things you and Meg were talking about, and why you left to call Riku in private, and now there’s more words you’re not telling me!” She turned to Axel, who was snickering. “If my frustration is so funny, then you explain them!”_ _

__“Aaaaand I’m out of here.” Axel spun around to exit the door._ _

__“No!” Sora yelled. Axel had opened the floodgates; he was going to suffer for it too. Sora jumped up and pulled him onto Riku’s bed, pinning him there._ _

__“Whoa, easy there!” Axel laughed. “As much as I’d love to play around with you, I don’t think your boyfriend over there will approve.”_ _

__Sora felt his face heat up, and he sat up. “He’s not—ugh.” It wasn’t worth arguing anymore. “Fine, whatever. Yeah, we’re together. How do you even know? Like, we’re both still mostly closeted!”_ _

__Axel laughed. “Oh, no, not as much as you’d think. The entire Organization knows you’re bent, at the very least.”_ _

__“What! How!?”_ _

__“Well, pretty sure that’s something Nobodies carry over from their Somebody, and Roxas was out and proud.”_ _

__“Can someone please tell me what you’re all talking about?” Kairi screeched, clearly angry. Sora looked at her in surprise. How did she not understand? The Islands weren’t that sheltered, were they? ...Actually, maybe they were. Sora hadn’t exactly been there much the past few years, and hadn’t been to school in that amount of time either._ _

__Axel looked at Kairi with an expression of pity. “Like I said before, they’re boning.”_ _

__“And like I asked before, what’s that mean?”_ _

__Axel looked at her in complete shock. “You were actually serious?”_ _

__“Yes!”_ _

__The redhead turned to look at the boys. “Is your homeworld extremely sexually repressed or something?”_ _

__Sora shrugged. “I dunno. Haven’t been there much the past few years. But apparently Kairi doesn’t even know what the word ‘straight’ means, and unlike me she actually went to high school for a bit, so based on that alone I’d say yes.”_ _

__“Seriously? Not knowing what ‘straight’ means? Does your Island school not even have sex ed or something?”_ _

__Kairi looked confused. “Sex ed? What does that—” Kairi’s eyes widened in realization. “Wait. Are all those words related to… and I kept asking… oh my god.” She buried her face in her hands, face red._ _

__Axel chuckled. “And she catches on! Still want to know the details, princess?”_ _

__Kairi took a deep breath, quelling her blush, and looked up, voice controlled. “I don’t want to be caught in another situation where I don’t understand things. I understand if you’re too embarrassed to explain. I’m embarrassed too. But… well…”_ _

__“You need to know, and it’d be awkward going to someone else,” Riku finished for her._ _

__Sora smiled, trying to make things less awkward. “It’s okay. We understand. I’d be asking lots of things too if it weren’t for Roxas already knowing everything!”_ _

__Kairi smiled. “Thanks, Sora.” She clapped her hands together in determination. “So. Explanations. Now.”_ _

__A semi-awkward silence settled over the room for a minute; none of the boys wanted to be the one to start explaining anything to Kairi. Axel finally broke the silence: “Rock, Paper, Scizzors?”_ _

__

__*******_ _

__Kairi sat on her bed feeling highly overwhelmed. After the boys had finished explaining things to her, answering all her questions—which were many, as she’d had more questions about nearly every answer—Kairi and Sora had told Lea and Riku about the adventure overall. Then they'd noticed that the clocks said it was getting pretty late (the sky here never told you anything) so she and Lea went to their rooms. Lea had told Sora and Riku something that Kairi now knew to be highly suggestive, implying that… well, something she’d rather not think of her friends doing, let alone at this moment. She also now understood why the Tower had given them a shared room… though how the Mysterious Tower knew was a mystery, true to its name._ _

__Kairi needed time to process all the information given to her… if she understood correctly, most of what Hades had said was referencing Sora being gay, which meant that he liked boys in the way most boys liked girls, and alluded to the fact that Riku and Sora were together. As in a couple. That kissed and… yeah. Which she hadn't even thought could be possible, but apparently it was. She had felt a little hurt that they’d never told her that before, but understood why when they explained how people tended to view such things on the Islands (then she felt hurt that they’d thought she could feel that way too, even understanding the logic behind it. Like, even if she did feel the way some on the Islands felt, she’d forgiven Riku for basically kidnapping her while working for an evil witch, so it should have been obvious that this wouldn’t phase her either. Stupid boys). She made sure to reassure them plenty that she could never ever hate them for anything and that it was perfectly okay for them to be together (Even if she was a little jealous that Riku got to be with Sora in the way she wanted to be)._ _

__At least they’d told her though. Kairi wondered how long it would have taken for them to tell her if she hadn’t been so pushy about it. She was a little annoyed and jealous that Lea knew before her, despite knowing that wasn’t really fair of her since Lea had figured it out on his own (as well as the whole freaking Organization) rather than been told. The only ones they’d actually outright told were each other and her, so she felt honored about that, but couldn’t help the jealousy—both at Riku for being the one Sora chose (even though she knew she had zero chance, but jealousy doesn’t always follow logic) and that quite a few others knew before her (who again, all figured it out, so again, unfounded)._ _

__Kairi also felt so stupid for not knowing; if she hadn’t been living in such a bubble, it would have been completely obvious. Especially after Olympus, with all the hints Sora had been trying to throw around and his reaction to both Hades’s words and then Hercules’s chest. Looking back, the signs were probably there since before the Islands fell! Did anyone on the Islands know or suspect? Probably not; from the sound of it, most the Islands were just as oblivious to… what’d they call it? GBLT? LGVT? LGBT, that was it! LGBT things. Sora had known nothing until he’d left. She’d always assumed it’d be her and Sora, and suspected Sora felt the same, but in retrospect that was probably forced on his part, something being pushed on him by everyone else claiming they were destined. She wondered what would have happened if they hadn’t left—would he have ended up with her, thinking that was how things should be, while still pining after Riku? Would the two boys have drifted apart, Riku not being able to bear the seemingly unrequited attraction? Maybe it was better for their romantic lives to have left the Islands._ _

__Kairi had another thought then. Because Sora was obviously out of the picture now, her love life would be significantly different… she could look at people without feeling guilty of betraying Sora, and—hold up. Her brain stopped momentarily. She remembered Hercules and Meg. She had been looking at Herc’s chest, of course, who wouldn’t (which Sora had actually said to her; how had she not realized he meant he felt something too?), but also… huh. Kairi would have to think on that more later. She had too many other things to process first._ _

__

__*******_ _

__“Well, that was awkward,” Riku commented after Kairi left the room._ _

__Sora flopped down on the bed. “Ugh, you’re telling me! I had to deal with her trying to ask those things the entire time we were there. Thankfully there were interruptions every time, but sheesh. When she’s determined about something...”_ _

__Riku laughed. “Yeah, that’s Kairi for you.”_ _

__Sora laughed too. “Yeah. Can’t believe she was that oblivious though… I seriously thought I was dropping some pretty hard hints while there. Actually, come to think of it, I’m pretty sure Donald and Goofy didn’t understand anything either; they reacted with confusion at the same things Kairi did. Oh, crap. Please don’t have them asking questions next!”_ _

__Riku cringed. “Ugh, yeah, that’d be the worst… But, I’m glad Kairi’s okay with everything.”_ _

__“Yeah… you know, maybe it was good we had to explain things to her,” Sora said. “If she’d learned about some of that on the Islands… well…”_ _

__“She might have had a different perspective,” Riku finished._ _

__“Yeah.” Sora wondered how their other Island friends would react. And… oh shit. “What do you think our parents will say? Assuming we tell them. And assuming we even go back.”_ _

__Riku sat up, giving Sora an odd look. “You don’t want to go back? You’ve always said you did. What changed?”_ _

__Sora shrugged. He’d been thinking about it for a while actually. “It’s just… not the same anymore. That break we had there, after Xemnas, just didn’t feel right. It’s, what’s the word, st… ugh.”_ _

__“Stagnant? Stifling?”_ _

__“Yeah, those. Besides, most of the reason I wanted to go back was so the three of us could be together again, but we're all here now.”_ _

__Riku nodded. “Yeah, I get it. After seeing all the other worlds, travelling, going on missions and adventures…" He shook his head. “I don’t think I want to go back either. What about your mom though? I always had a poor relationship with my parents, but you and your mom were pretty close.”_ _

__“I guess.” Sora said, thinking about it. “At first I did want to see her, too, but again, after returning, it was… different.”_ _

__Riku nodded, then changed the subject as he seemed to suddenly remember something. “Oh! You haven’t had blood the past few days! Do you need some now?”_ _

__Sora shook his head. “Nah, I’m pretty sleepy actually. And—oh, right, you wouldn’t have heard this part.” Kairi hadn't known and Sora hadn't been about to tell her. “I had some blood while there, too.”_ _

__Riku raised his eyebrows, silently asking why and how._ _

__Sora laughed nervously. “Well, I got injured, and lost a fair amount of blood. As you know, potions and cure magic don’t replenish that when you’re a vampire. Kairi and them were in the same room and I obviously didn’t want to randomly attack Kairi, so I took a walk to try to cool down. Meg and Herc found me, and somehow she quickly figured it out. She also realized that I was super hungry, so she decided I could have some of hers, and first I declined, but she absolutely insisted like you did, so I had some. But not like when I have yours! There were no shenanigans involved.”_ _

__Riku chuckled. “Shenanigans? Is that why you took it from her, and not the hot muscular Olympian?”_ _

__Sora blushed.. “He did offer… but! He’s a god!” Riku raised an eyebrow. “No, really, he literally is! Zeus is his dad, and Hades is his Uncle. Imagine if I drank his blood—do you really want to risk the possibility of a part-god vampire running around?”_ _

__Riku titled his head. “Hmm. That might be kinda hot actually,” he teased._ _

__“Shut up. I’m gonna get ready for bed now.”_ _

__As Sora began emptying his pockets before removing his clothes to put pajamas on, he came across the little bottle Hades had given him. Right, he still hadn’t gotten rid of it… but wait, if it was some immortal magical thing, it was dangerous to just throw out—someone like Xehanort could come across it and wreak havoc. Would dumping it down the drain be okay, or would they end up with hoards of immortal fish? Hmm. Oh, he heard you can throw old medicine in the trash if you damage them with stuff. Perhaps that way? But wait, what if it reacts to whatever he mixes it with? Maybe he should ask Yen Sid how magical drinks should properly be disposed of._ _

__“What’s that?” Riku asked._ _

__“Huh? Oh, something Hades gave me,” Sora replied automatically, still thinking about how to dispose of it._ _

__Riku frowned. “Hades gave it to you?”_ _

__“Yeah.”_ _

__Riku stood up and snatched the bottle from Sora’s hand._ _

__“Hey!”_ _

__“Look, if it’s from Hades, it's not good news,” Riku argued. “We should take it to Yen Sid; it could be poison or something.”_ _

__Sora rolled his eyes. “It’s not poison, it’s ambrosia.”_ _

__RIku froze, looking at Sora in shock. “Ambrosia? Okay, no way he was telling the truth about that.”_ _

__“He was, though, oddly enough. I asked Zeus to confirm it. Dunno why he let me keep it though; mortals aren’t supposed to have it.”_ _

__“Well, why did Hades give it to you?”_ _

__“Oh. Um. Well, he somehow knows I’m a vampire. I think it’s because he’s God of the Underworld or whatever. Anyway, I think he thinks I'm an actual vampire, the immortal kind, not a temporary one… oh! Maybe Zeus could tell and thought that too which is why he let me keep it! Anyway, Hades said this was—his words—‘in case you want to keep your sexy little blood bank around for eternity’. Meaning you.”_ _

__Riku’s eyebrows were nearly in his hair. “Your… what?”_ _

__“His words, not mine!”_ _

__Riku laughed. “I know, I know, just teasing… we probably should still bring it to Yen Sid though.”_ _

__“Yeah, maybe he’ll know how to properly dispose of it. We don’t need hoards of immortal fish or possums or bugs.”_ _

__Riku stared at Sora. “Immortal… what?”_ _

__“If we dump it down the drain or throw it in the trash,” Sora explained._ _

__Riku practically doubled over in laughter. “Only, only you would think of that, Sora.”_ _

__“But it’s true!”_ _

__Riku calmed his laughter to pause in thought. “Maybe we should keep it,” he suggested tepidly. “What if you’re—”_ _

__“Do not. Finish. That sentence.” Sora growled, bearing his teeth, all hint of mirth gone._ _

__Riku waved his hands. “Okay, okay, got it! Just trying to… plan for all contingencies.”_ _

__Sora pouted. He knew Riku was right—Yen Sid said to wait a month before getting concerned, but errors with that spell were nearly always gone within two days._ _

__Riku put his hand on Sora’s shoulder. “Come on, Sora. I’m sure it’ll all be fine, no need to worry.”_ _

__Sora was quiet for a moment before answering. “But I am worried,” he admitted. “This… I know Yen Sid said it’ll probably wear off, but in the books we were looking through, not one mentioned actually changing into a different species. They were all little aesthetic things—fangs, tails, scales… the most major documented one was a set of working wings. All stayed human otherwise.”_ _

__Sora didn’t need to voice the unspoken question: what if the vampirism actually was permanent?_ _

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you enjoyed!


End file.
